The Bonds of Blood
by SafiraMajika
Summary: After being attacked by banes, Lia takes the only course left to her. But it brings her much more than she ever could have imagined.


**Notes: **_All original characters belong to me. The rest are property of NWA/TNA and WWE. I have borrowed them for nonprofit entertainment purposes._

**THE BONDS OF BLOOD**

I woke slowly, vaguely aware of a faint throbbing pain in my chest. As my eyes opened, I became aware of a petite, auburn-haired woman sitting on the bed next to me. "Where am I?" I whispered, trying to sit up. She helped me into a sitting position and smiled. "You're in a safe place. My name is Britta. How do you feel?" she replied, looking at me speculatively. "I'm Lia. I'm all right, I suppose. But either something really weird happened last night or I had one hell of a bad dream," I told her, stretching my arms and wincing when I felt a pulling sensation. "Can you describe what you remember from last night?" she asked me, her green eyes filled with concern. To my surprise, I actually had to think about it. After a few minutes of thought, I answered her. "I was trying to catch my cat and bring her inside for the night. She went through the bushes into the park behind my house and I followed her. That's where the weird part comes in. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that three guys with fangs attacked me and a fourth guy fought them off. Am I close?" I was surprised once more when she nodded. "Oh boy," I breathed and then my eyes widened. I pulled out the collar of the shirt I was wearing and looked down, barely seeing the edge of a bandage on the underside of my left breast. "Those guys were vampires, weren't they?" I whispered, finally looking at the woman. "Yes, they were. But I'm fairly sure that Siaki got to you before anything else could be done to you," she told me and then answered the question that I was about to ask her. "Not all vampires feed from the neck. Some prefer the inner thigh or below the breast." I stared at her. "How did you know I was going to ask you that?" She actually blushed. "Because I'm one of the few who still feed from the neck. And don't worry, I never feed from the unwilling." I gasped before I could stop myself. "Are you one of them?" "Oh no," she laughed, "I'm something that they'll never be. I'm one of the Varias, a pureblood vampire. That means that I was born a vampire. I'm also an upright or a good vampire. The ones that attacked you were banes. I know that this is a lot to take in at once and I'm sure that I've just frightened you more than you already were. That wasn't my intention and I apologize."

I let her words sink in and discovered that I wasn't as bothered or as frightened as I probably should have been. "For some reason, my mind is perfectly willing to accept this. Weird, huh?" I finally said, giving her a half-smile. She smiled back. "It may have something to do with the fact that I sensed some psychic ability in you. Siaki sensed your presence and hauled ass to get to you." I shook my head slightly. "That can't be. I mean, if I have psychic ability, why don't I know about it?" Britta laughed softly. "Everyone has some psychic ability but only a handful know how to access it," she explained, "Maybe yours only works when you're frightened." I thought about that for a moment and realized that it made sense. "Britta, do you think that I'll be whatever that guy was?" I asked as the thought occurred to me. A slight frown creased her forehead. "I'm not sure. There's no real way to tell if you've been infected until symptoms show up," she replied softly. "What are the symptoms?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't infected. "Excessive thirst no matter how much you drink, an inability to stay awake after dawn, light sensitivity in your eyes and a sharp prickling sensation when the sun touches your skin. But I'm fairly sure that Siaki got to you in time." "Is Siaki all right? I mean, he didn't get hurt trying to help me, did he?" I inquired. She smiled. "He only got a few scratches but he's fine now. The big guy heals pretty fast for one of our kind." I sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear that he's all right. I'd hate to think he'd gotten seriously hurt trying to help me." "Believe me, he's fine. Everyone was more worried about you, Lia. You were unconscious for quite a while." "How many people are here?" I asked, blinking rapidly. Britta laughed softly, the musical sound filling the air. "At the moment, eight. Nine if I include myself though there are others who should be back soon. But don't worry, no one here will hurt you," she answered. I know that my eyes widened at that. "If you're feeling up to it, you're welcome to meet them." "I guess I am. It's not like I have anything else to do right now," I laughed softly as I slid off the bed.

I followed her out of the bedroom and down the long hallway. As we passed the different doors, she banged on them. "What are you doing?" I asked. She gave me a mischievous smile. "I deliver the nightly wake-up calls. Some of these guys hate getting up before midnight," she giggled and I couldn't stop myself from doing the same. After she banged on the last door, I heard something thump against it. I looked at her. "That's just Chris. He always sleeps late," she laughed as we headed down the stairs. I heard voices and asked her who would already be awake. "It's probably Erik and the twins. The twins wake up before I do and Erik usually wakes up around the same time Ian does," she replied with a smile. "Okay. Who's Ian?" A blush suffused her cheeks. "He's sort of the head of the family. Together, we keep the boys in line and out of trouble. We've had a harder time of that lately with the banes acting up," she explained.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I saw three young men sitting at the table. I could tell which ones Britta referred to as 'the twins'. While not actually twins, they looked around the same age and shared certain facial features. Erik looked to be about my age and was definitely older than the twins. His ocean-blue eyes twinkled as he laughed at something one of the twins was saying. His curly, dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail that ended halfway down his back. "Hi, Britta," he said as we came closer to the table. "Hi, boys," she said, ruffling the hair of the twins. Both young men ducked their heads, complaining. "Do you have to do that? It messes up my hair," one of them protested, giving her a disgruntled look. "Yes, I do and don't be such a crybaby, Shannon," she laughed as she walked to the counter. "Would you like some coffee, Lia? I'm pretty sure Erik left some." "That would be great. I have a feeling that the caffeine will help clear my head," I replied softly, sitting down one seat away from Erik. The twins regarded me with open curiosity. "What? You've never seen a natural blonde before?" I retorted playfully, smiling at them. "Ooh, I like her. Hey, Britta, can we keep her?" Shannon asked, grinning broadly. "For God's sake, Shannon. She's not a pet," Britta said in exasperation, setting a cup of coffee in front of me. "Thank you, Britta." "No problem. Oh, this is Erik and the two little hellboys are Shannon and Jimmy. Early warning, where you find one you'll find the other. And they're always in some sort of mischief," she told me with a smile. "But you still love us," Jimmy laughed softly. "Always." Shannon smiled at me. "So do you have a name or should we just call you 'hey beautiful'?" I couldn't help but smile. "My name's Lia but if you feel the urge to call me 'beautiful', I won't argue," I replied and Erik laughed.

A few minutes later, I heard the sound of feet on the stairs and glanced over. Two young men reached the bottom and stopped when they saw me. "Don't say it, James," Britta called over her shoulder as she opened the refrigerator door. "What?" he asked with a smile that was too innocent to be genuine. "Busted," the other young man with him laughed softly as he sat down between Erik and I. "What was he going to say?" I asked, glancing at the twins. "Knowing James and his penchant for blondes, he was probably going to ask who ordered breakfast," Jimmy explained with an impish grin. As James sat down, I smiled at him. "You wouldn't really have said that, would you?" He shook his head. "No. Brian was the one who thought it," he protested, pointing at the dark-haired young man next to me. "I did not. My first thought was _'God, she's hot'_. Don't blame your perv 'tude on me, pal," Brian shot back with a slight blush. Laughter erupted around the table and I couldn't help but join in. "Remind me not to stay in a room alone with him," I laughed and glanced over to see what Britta was doing. To my surprise, she was mixing the ingredients for pancakes. That caught me off guard. "Wait a minute. You eat normal food?" I asked in confusion. Brian answered for her. "We only feed once a week so we have to eat something in between to keep us going," he explained with a smile. "Ookay. Any other myths you feel like dispelling for me?" I inquired, seeing each of them in a new light. They all looked at Britta. "Ah, go ahead. Who's she going to tell?" the petite vampiress laughed. "What would you like to know, beautiful?" Erik teased, his eyes twinkling. "Garlic." Shannon wrinkled up his nose. "Ew, gross. Unless it's in pasta sauce, of course." Jimmy nodded in agreement. "It doesn't hurt us at all. Well, Chris can't stand the smell of it so it makes him kinda nauseous." "I like garlic myself," James commented and Brian agreed. "I think it's good stuff. At least it is if I'm not kissing anyone after I eat it." I let their answers sink in and then smiled. "What about crosses?" All eyes turned to Erik who reached inside his shirt and pulled out a silver cross. "I guess that answered my question." "Actually, it didn't. Banes can't stand the sight or touch of a cross. They don't faze uprights at all. In fact, we usually wear them to piss off the banes," Erik told me with a smile. I pulled out my own cross. "So why didn't it help me?" I asked softly. "Probably because it wasn't your neck they were after," Shannon replied. Then he yelped when Britta smacked him on the back of the head. "What? I saw where one of them bit her," he exclaimed, rubbing his head. I could feel my face turning beet red. "Jeez," I mumbled and buried my face in my hands. "He saw the blood on your shirt, Lia, not the actual bite," Britta murmured. I raised my head and glared at Shannon who had the good grace to look embarrassed. "Boy, am I glad that look isn't aimed at me," Erik breathed and then smiled. "You do have a pretty blush though." I shook my head. "Are they like this all the time?" I asked Britta and she smiled. "Pretty much. They usually manage to behave themselves much better in front of a guest though," she said, looking pointedly at Shannon and James.

Anything further that might have been said was interrupted by the arrival of two more vampires. The first one into the kitchen was a beautiful girl of about 25 with twinkling brown eyes. "Was the sound I heard a few seconds ago that of Shannon getting smacked again?" she laughed and sat down next to Jimmy. "Yes, Desire," came the chorused answer. "That's what I thought. Oh, Chris's on his way down. He's being poky tonight," she told Britta and then smiled at me. "You look like you're feeling better," she commented as another vampire came into the kitchen. He reminded me somewhat of James but his features were different. His long brown hair was pulled back from his face and he didn't look happy. This had to be Chris. "Well, hello, Grumpy," James laughed, "Don't you look beautiful tonight?" When he snarled at James, I was actually shocked to see fangs. "Behave yourself in front of company, Chris," Shannon warned him, "Britta smacked me in the head for commenting on Lia's breasts." Chris's blue eyes met mine. "So you were Vandenberg's midnight snack," he said as he looked at me speculatively, "How are you feeling?" I smiled slightly and murmured, "Twisted, turned and inside out." He nodded. "I know the feeling. Kinda sucks, doesn't it?" he replied with a slight smile. "Definitely." He sat down next to Shannon and looked at me again. "You work at Oblivion, don't you?" he asked me suddenly. I nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?" Desire giggled. "Sweetheart, you work at one of the biggest upright clubs in the state," she informed me. "That actually explains a lot," I commented, finally understanding why I never saw my boss during the day. "I figured it would." Chris continued to look at me and it was starting to make me nervous. "What?" I finally asked him. "Just remembering how you look in your uniform," he murmured with a smile. I blushed. "Shut up, Chris." He laughed. "Britta, smack me in the head. I've seen more of Lia than Shannon has and it's nice," he teased and winked at me. "If you're not careful, buster, _I'm_ going to smack you in the head," I warned him, though I was smiling. "Be careful," Desire laughed, "Chris considers that foreplay." He snorted softly. "Actually, that's James." That brought on more laughter which I had no problem joining.

After breakfast, Erik and Brian helped James clear the table and I loaded the dishwasher. The 'twins' were finishing up the grocery list. "Lia, how much chocolate milk is in the fridge?" Jimmy asked in an innocent tone. "There's still a half-gallon, James Edward. We don't need any more," Britta replied before I could get to the fridge. Jimmy pouted. I laughed softly. "Chocoholics, huh?" "You have no idea," she told me with a smile. "Those two can eat and drink their weight in it." I shook my head slightly and finished wiping off the counter. As I turned around, I saw a somewhat familiar face. "You must be Siaki," I said softly and smiled at him. He gave me a slight smile, his dark eyes twinkling. "Looks like you're feeling better," he commented as he sat down next to Jimmy. "Much better, thank you. I'm glad you got to me when you did. Are you feeling all right?" I asked. "Hell, it takes more than a few scratches to get me down," he chuckled and I smiled brighter. For a guy with his build, he seemed very nice.

"Is there anything special you'd like, Lia?" Britta asked with a slight smile. I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. "Nah, I'm easy," I replied without thinking. Brian wolf-whistled and Erik grinned. "Thanks for bringing her here, Siaki," he leered and winked at me. I glared at him. "That's not what I meant and you know it, Erik," I retorted and then couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. "Yeah, but a man can hope," he laughed and I threw a dishtowel at him. Our laughter was still going when a tall black-haired man stopped in the doorway. "What did Erik do now?" he inquired, giving me a kind smile. Britta smiled. "Misinterpretation of words so Lia threw a towel at him," she explained. He shook his head. "He never learns," he commented and sat down. "Lia, this is Ian," Britta introduced with a sweet smile. "It's nice to meet you, Ian." He smiled again. "Same here." I dried my hands and turned. "I'm curious about something," I said, looking at Ian. He tilted his head in a questioning manner. "How do you put up with this bunch? They'd drive a saint to sin." When he laughed, his dark eyes twinkled. "I've been asking myself the same question for years," he answered. I couldn't help but laugh with him. He was probably a lot more patient with them than I would be.

I was still laughing when a buzzing sound filled my head. I shook my head, trying to clear it but it didn't. "Lia, are you all right?" Britta asked, her voice sounding as if it were coming from a distance. I grabbed my head and screamed as fire blossomed in my head. Falling to my knees, I struggled to breathe. "No, no, no," I gasped, trying to focus though I failed. In my mind, I heard a voice hiss sibilantly. _"I always get what I want, pretty bitch. And I still want you."_ Then everything went black and I couldn't hear anything.

When I opened my eyes, I was still on the floor but I was in Ian's arms. "Lia? Can you hear me?" he asked softly, his dark eyes filled with worry. Breathing heavily, I whispered, "It was him. His voice was in my head." His brow furrowed for a moment and then he looked up at Siaki. "Get Raven and bring him here. We're going to need him," he ordered softly and rose to his feet, lifting me easily. All eyes in the room were on me as Ian carried me into the living room and gently laid me on the couch. "What did he say to you?" Taking a rather shaky breath, I murmured, "I always get what I want, pretty bitch, and I still want you." I closed my eyes and tried not to flinch as a low hiss escaped one of them. "Try to rest, Lia," I heard Britta say softly and I jumped slightly at a soft touch on my right temple. "It's all right. He won't get to you here." Sighing heavily, I tried to relax but couldn't. I had a feeling that something terrible was going to happen. The soft touch on my temple faded and I somehow drifted off to sleep.


End file.
